


World Cup, 2016

by orphan_account



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Ginny is canonically a Quidditch reviewer so you can't stop me from giving her cameos, Multi, Professional Quidditch AU, References to Harry Potter, and we all still hate her, changing canon so that the world cup is once a year, rita skeeter is still around, wizarding social media is wild
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 14:39:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9239318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After Yuuri Katsuki's horrible defeat in the 2015 Quidditch World Cup, he's back with a new technique to win the game. Victor Nikiforov is still the world's top seeker, and Yuuri is determined to change that. Feat. Yuri Plisetsky being constantly annoyed.Or: The unholy hybrid of a Harry Potter AU and a social media fic.





	

_"Oh,_ and there's Favre, getting the Quaffle from Isayama like it's nothing! That's a really incredible move, I haven't seen fresh talent from Switzerland since the 90's, remember Stein?"

"Yes, Stein was something, I think I heard something about him helping to train Favre for this season."

"From Favre to Jeanneret, and there's the first point of the game! Ten points to Switzerland!"

Yuuri takes a deep breath from his spot in the center of the field. He doesn't see the Snitch yet, so he's decided to make a few circles around the center of the field while keeping an eye out for the telltale golden flash. Favre is good, Yuuri knows. He's new, fresh out of some no-mag university, and was somehow still _this_ good at Quidditch. Incredible, really. 

Ishida Jiro tosses the Quaffle back into play, and the game continues. It goes on like that for some time, the back and forth earning of points. Yuuri knows all too well that the Japanese chasers were about average nine times out of ten, and as friendly as they were, sometimes friendliness wasn't important.

The score is 60-40 Switzerland when he sees it, the flash of gold. Thankfully Quidditch is a sport that lets him wear his glasses - though they have to be charmed to his face - so he can see the Snitch. Christophe Giacometti - the Swiss seeker - must see it too, because he's flying at full speed over to where Yuuri saw the Snitch. 

Chris is fast, he's flexible, and he's certainly _distracting_ , but one thing he decidedly isn't is _clever_. Yuuri knows that by the time Chris reaches the Snitch, the ball will be somewhere else entirely. In a split second, he sees where the Snitch is flying and flies to the spot that'll bring the Snitch right to him. It's a move he'd thought about doing, it'd work in theory, and despite his massive loss at the World Cup last year, he knows he can still win some basic games.

He's right, he realizes as his fingers close around the cool metal. He never knows if he's right until he's done it, until the whistles are blown and the commentators start shouting in ten different languages.

He turns his broom and comes to a sharp stop, holding the resisting Snitch high in the air. The crowd in the stadium is deafening. It feels good, he thinks, for them to be cheering about _his_  victory, not the other team's. Last year took a lot out of him. This year, Japan is going to win the World Cup.

 

There are interviews after. _How does this win feel after the disappointment as last year's World Cup_  is the most common question, and that's the most polite wording he remembers. _Failure_ is another common one, _devastating loss_  is slightly more accurate. The cameras don't capture him wringing shaky hands behind his back as he answers.

After the interviews he goes and sits down in the empty locker room to polish his broom in silence. It's a very nice broom, brand new model, but you wouldn't expect anything less for the national team, the best Quidditch players in the country. It isn't the same broom he rode last year, that's helpful.

"Do you like the silence, Yuuri?" asks a deep voice. Yuuri knows who it is before the silhouette in the door comes to sit next to him on the bench. 

"Yeah, I do, after a match," he replies. Chris is friendly, if a little forward at times.

"It's to be expected. I was coming here myself, just for some alone time. Losing is hard for me, at twenty five. I'm expected to retire soon, I'm no Nikiforov."

"I'm sorry, Chris," Yuuri says, but he isn't. He _has_  to prove himself, last year can't define him. 

"No, don't be," Chris waves it off with a reluctant sigh, "You need it more than I do. I know what this season means to you. We aren't going to the World Cup, not this year. I've had my time, never beaten Nikiforov."

"Nobody has," says Yuuri, because it's true. Not at a World Cup at least. Nobody's beaten Nikiforov once, not since he came into the league, unknown at twenty-two. There's not a single person following Quidditch that _doesn't_ know his name now.

"You might, this year."

Yuuri laughs humorlessly. "Unlikely. You're better, Chris, you could do it."

"That trick you did there, Yuuri. I haven't seen anything like it. Predicting where the Snitch would go, it's incredible."

"It was a theory."

"You'd have to be confident in knowing exactly how fast the Snitch was going, and if it wouldn't change directions midway. It's...nearly impossible, that's what it is."

Yuuri shakes his head. He's sure other wizards have used the technique before, it can't be entirely new. 

"I'm serious, Yuuri," says Chris with urgency, "Victor is my friend, but I want to see him defeated. He can't win six times in a row, and you know when he's gone that kid Plisetsky will take over. Someone needs to beat him. I couldn't back in '14. It's on you."

Yuuri is frustrated now. "I don't even know if we'll make it to the World Cup."

"You're going to. Nobody else uses that technique, not Nikiforov, not Crispino, _no one._ Keep that a secret until the Cup, and you'll win. I guarantee it."

"Whatever, Chris. I'm gonna head in," he says, and turns to leave.

"You do that Yuuri, and hey, stay sexy!" calls Chris as Yuuri leaves, in typical Chris fashion.

 

He avoids reporters on his way back to his room, but somehow Minami still finds him. 

"Yuuri-kun, today was so amazing! How did you do that? As soon as I graduate Mahoutokoro I'm going to try out for the national team! I'll make Japan proud!"

How does he always says that so enthusiastically? Yuuri replies in the same way he always does when Minami is making his declarations. "I'm sure you'll do wonderfully, but maybe you should start with a regional team first."

"Right!" Minami says, like usual, and his straight-backed look of determination is enough distraction to himself to let Yuuri slip away into the crowd. 

He slips into the elevator and presses the button for the fifth floor right as Minami notices his absence. The hotel they're staying in is atthe heart of the hidden wizarding Switzerland, known for its sentient chocolate. For some reason, people stick to no-mag Switzerland if they want chocolate. 

He walks down the empty hallways when the elevator opens, looking for his room. He spots where it should be up ahead, but there's someone already at the door. He speeds up to see if he's got the wrong number when the man turns. His jaw drops as the man excitedly waves him over.

"Hi," he says, "I'm Victor Nikiforov."

"Yes, I know who you are," replies Yuuri relectantly, because _really?_ Is there anyone who _doesn't_  know who Victor Nikiforov is?

"Oh! Good! I was hoping you'd remember me."

 Why is he being so cheerful?

When Victor doesn't make any more attempts to speak, Yuuri breaks the silence. "Can I help you?"

Victor smiles brightly. "Can I practice with you tomorrow?"

"Excuse me?"

"Can I practice with you tomorrow?" he asks again, "I'd really like to."

"Um, sure?"

"Great!" says Victor with an even bigger smile, "I'll meet you for breakfast too, it's a date."

_What?_   "No, I'm not going on a date with you so you can find out how good I've gotten in the off season. Go hang out with Chris or whatever, you've never even talked to me."

"Oh," says Victor, "Dinner then? It _won't_ be a date."

In answer, Yuuri walks past Victor and opens the door to his room with a wave of his wand, closing the door soundly behind him before sinking onto the bed.

_He just turned down a date. With Victor Nikiforov._

Yuuri rolls over and groans, still half asleep. Phichit Flooed himself back to Thailand after their celebration, so he's alone in the hotel room. He wonders if the team has gone home yet. Everyone usually left at their own pace, since magical transportation was so easy. He grabs his phone from his bedside table and checks to see if Phichit made it home safely. Of course he shouldn't expect that kind of text, but what he does get is a link to the Daily Prophet.

_Nikiforov Talking to Katsuki at Switzerland-Japan Game?_

_by Rita Skeeter_

He should've known. Victor Nikiforov doesn't get anywhere without the press following him, which is allegedly why he spends so much time in the no-mag world. 

[sent 08:17] _how did you even get this so fast?_

[received 08:18] _i know people_ (ㆆᴗㆆ)

His response is just a vague text about getting breakfast, which he doesn't do. Instead, he showers and changes and packs his things before heading over to the fireplace in the room. He says where he wants to go clearly, and closes his eyes as he's transported to the secret room at Yuutopia. 

As soon as he stumbles out of the fireplace, his family is on him. "Yuuri!" shouts his mother, wrapping her arms around him, "We're so proud!"

He gets congratulations from Yuuko, and even a begrudging clap on the back from Mari, who's still annoyed she couldn't get tickets.

Hiroko already has something set for breakfast, which he eats gratefully as he tells them about the win. He notices Yuuko looking uncomfortable and stops to ask what's wrong.

"I'm friends with Yuri Plisetsky now, I think," she says. Apparently this comes as a shock to the rest of his family.

"How?" asks Toshiya.

"He sent me an owl telling me to tell Yuuri that he's awful and he hates him, and then sent me another a few hours later with his number," her face transitions to a smile, "Yuuri, why didn't you tell me Victor Nikiforov asked you on a date?"

" _What?"_  shrieks Mari, her chopsticks going over her shoulder. She picks them up apologetically at Hiroko's pointed glare.

"Well he showed up to my hotel room after the game and asked if I wanted to get breakfast and practice with him tomorrow, so obviously I said no," explains Yuuri, and he only realizes how ridiculous it sounds as he says it out loud. 

"Why would you say no?" asks Yuuko.

"Well Chris says he hasn't seen anyone get the Snitch like I did, so I assumed he wanted me to show him. That'd give away how I'm going to win."

Yuuko laughs. "Yuuri, Victor wasn't even at the game."

"Rita Skeeter said that, I don't believe it."

Mari looks impressed. "I'm surprised you even know who Rita Skeeter is."

"I don't. I read the comments." 

_~_

**NIKIFOROV TALKING TO KATSUKI AT SWITZERLAND-JAPAN GAME?**

**by Rita Skeeter**

We here at the Daily Prophet absolutely _love_  a bit of foreign Quidditch, and we certainly have a piece for you! Yuuri Katsuki and none other than Russian Quidditch legend Victor Nikiforov were heard having a conversation outside Katsuki's hotel room in Switzerland. 

We can thank a _very_  worn down listening tool from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes for giving us this incredible story. Given that the Extendable Ear is an original from 1995, the entire conversation was not picked up. What we could hear, however, was Nikiforov inviting Katsuki to practice with him (we all dream of that, _swoon_ ), and Katsuki _declining!_  

Besides the fact that Katsuki declined, what was Nikiforov even doing at a game involving two of his biggest contenders for the championship? We know that he's friends with Swiss seeker Christophe Giacometti, but he wasn't seen during the game or after Japanese seeker Katsuki declined his offer. Sources say he was seen with a vial of Floo powder, and it's presumed he went back to Russia via Floo.

However, this leaves a very interesting gap in this story. Why did Nikiforov go all the way to Switzerland, the Phoenix Grande no less, _just_  to invite a foreign seeker to practice with him? Is this scoping out the competition (because lets be real, if this game was anything to go off of, Japan is going to the World Cup) in a new way, or is this a genuine offer of friendship? Either way, this is an interesting development to a fresh Quidditch season.

 

**smolnikiforov**

are you fucjing kidding me they met???

**tellme-arrowheads**

Tbh you guys are taking this way out of proportion. I trust Luna Scamander to write the next edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them more than I trust Rita Skeeter to deliver honest celebrity gossip. Remember 1994? Jesus, what a mess. And an Extendable Ear? The Weasleys haven't sold those in years, I doubt she has an original one. Nikiforov doesn't give a shit about Yuuri, however much we may want him to. Sorry :/

 

**QUIDDITCH STAR YUURI KATSUKI RETIRING?**

**14/12/15**

**by Ginny Potter**

We all loved this year's Quidditch World Cup. It was phenomenal, securing a win for Russia for the fifth consecutive time, breaking yet another record (again, attributed to star seeker Victor Nikiforov). However, after Yuuri Katsuki's startling performance for Japan, he may be considering retiring. 

We'll be back with more information as the situation progresses. 

 

**cuteyuri**

I'm so excited! Yuri is in his sixth year at Beauxbatons, this means Victor will be gone soon! Finally! Time to get a real seeker for Russia!

**view 502 comments**

**t_rate** dude aren't you american

**mly_25** Seriously, what do you have against Victor? You do realize he's won the World Cup for Russia 5 times in a row, right??

**cuteyuri @mly_25** lmao how cute, you Victor fans are so stupid. Victor is getting old, omfg, have you forgotten?

**mly_25 @cuteyuri** Yeah, okay, he's 27. Let's see how much that effects him this Sunday. Yuri Plisetsky still has two more years, go watch the school games in France or whatever.

**Author's Note:**

> Yuri is pissed that Victor got turned down :(


End file.
